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Chris Masters
| birth_place = Santa Monica, California | death_date = | death_place = | resides = | billed = Los Angeles, California | trainer = Ohio Valley Wrestling Ultimate Pro Wrestling | debut = August 15, 2002 | retired = }} Christopher Todd Mordetzky (January 8, 1983) is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters. He currently wrestles for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its Raw brand. Professional wrestling career Early career Mordetzky began training for a wrestling career at the age of 16 in Ultimate Pro Wrestling. He trained there for one year and suffered an injury, leaving him out of action for 3 months. During this time, Mordetzky learned that WWE was recruiting talent from UPW, and he took time off from wrestling for nearly three years to pursue a powerful physique that would interest World Wrestling Entertainment. His work paid off, as WWE offered him a developmental contract in 2003, training him at its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). At OVW, he developed his wrestling skills and refined his character, achieving success in both the singles and tag team divisions. When Mordetzky was called up to the main roster, WWE showed vignettes outlining him as The Masterpiece, touting him as having a body so perfect, it would appear he was sculpted out of stone. Mordetzky credits Matt Morgan for creating the Masterpiece gimmick, and said Vince McMahon encouraged him to emulate former wrestler Paul Orndorff. World Wrestling Entertainment (2005–2007) Raw; Master Lock Challenge (2005) "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters made his debut in WWE on Raw as a villain, drawing attention to his physique in bodybuilding poses during his entrance to the ring. On the February 21, 2005 edition of Raw, Masters was introduced to the wrestling world by challenging and defeating WWE Champion John Cena in an armwrestling match, then competing in his first wrestling match against WWE superstar Stevie Richards. During the contest Masters broke Richard's nose performing the Polish Hammer. The Polish Hammer continued to be a signature move of Masters' for months after this first match, but with warning that it would only be used in striking an opponent's chest. Masters made a claim that his version of the full nelson hold he dubbed the Master Lock was unbreakable, and began a series of contests he would call "Master Lock Challenges". Masters would go on to log more full nelson submission victories than any wrestler in WWE history, breaking the record previously held by Kurt Angle. Originally he would call out plants from the crowd, placing a $1,000 prize of his own money to be paid to anyone who could break free from the Master Lock. At Backlash, he defeated Melissa Coates in a Master Lock Challenge. However, these challenges were often criticised. The challenger had to sit on a steel chair and allow Masters to apply the hold and lift him from the chair, then the challenge would begin. The referee would normally end the challenge after a few seconds, declaring Masters the winner even if the challenger had not given up or passed out. On one other occasion, Shawn Michaels was given much longer to try and break the hold, Masters was clearly seen holding Michaels' hair. Also, if Masters himself released the hold, it was often declared a victory for Masters. He engaged in feuds with lower-card wrestlers, Val Venis and Sgt. Slaughter, who both failed to break the Master Lock. Using villainous tactics, he often attacked the wrestlers beforehand and frequently cheated (for example using a low-blow to escape Sgt. Slaughter's cobra clutch). Masters increased the offered reward each week up to $20,000 and sometimes threw in a bonus. After defeating the 400-pound Rosey on July 18, Masters defiantly stated "it doesn't matter how big they are!", prompting The Big Show to accept a "Master Lock Challenge". In accordance with his villainous persona, Masters fled, refusing a match with the Big Show. In late August, Masters entered a feud with Shawn Michaels, leading to a tag match between himself and Carlito against Ric Flair and Michaels. During the match, Masters defeated Ric Flair by submission. Masters regularly teamed with Carlito, albeit in a rigid business relationship. Michaels competed in a "Master Lock Challenge" on September 5. Masters, upset at the vigorous resistance of Michaels, released the hold and beat him with a steel chair before re-applying the hold. The "Challenge", which had not decided a clear victor between the two, led to a match at Unforgiven which Michaels won. Masters, alongside fellow Raw wrestler, Edge, was one of several wrestlers to "invade" SmackDown! in preparation for the match between the SmackDown! and Raw brands at Survivor Series. The two ambushed Rey Mysterio, leading to a tag match at Taboo Tuesday against Mysterio and Matt Hardy. Edge could not participate, so Masters teamed with Edge's replacement, Gene Snitsky. Masters and Snitsky lost when Mysterio pinned Masters. At Survivor Series, Masters competed in a five-on-five Survivor Series match between SmackDown! and Raw wrestlers. During the match their appeared to be a near-break in the Master Lock by Bobby Lashley, who "powered out" of the hold. As the hold was never completely locked in, however, the "Master Lock" had not been officially broken. Main event push (2005-2006) Masters had his first WWE Championship match on the November 28 edition of Raw. It was a Triple Threat Submission Match with Kurt Angle and John Cena. The idea was that both Masters and Angle had a submission finisher, and Cena did not (not counting the stfu), so therefore, Cena could not win. Prior to the match, Masters made headlines after attacking then-champion Cena from behind following one of Cena's matches. Masters applied the Master Lock hold, and became the first wrestler to bring Cena to unconsciousness, as Cena was unable to break the hold. During their match, Masters was struck with a chair shot from Cena, who ultimately retained the title, forcing Masters to tap out to Cena's STF-U. Masters would go on to bring Cena down in the Masterlock hold two more times, making him the only wrestler to bring John Cena to unconsciousness. Masters portrayed the role of a bailiff during the mock trial for then General Manager Eric Bischoff on the December 5 edition of RAW, with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as judge. Upon being called to the stand to testify for Bischoff's defense, he was asked to give his name, which he did saying his name was Chris Masters. He was immediately accused of perjury and disqualified as a witness, as McMahon broke kayfabe and stated that Masters' real name was Chris Mordetzky. On December 12, Chris Masters defeated Viscera on an episode of Raw to gain a spot in the Elimination Chamber match for John Cena's WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution. Viscera was shown to be too big to cinch on the Master Lock until being grounded. On the December 26 edition of Raw, Masters faced Chavo Guerrero, in a Beat the Clock match to determine who would be the final entrant to be released from his pod in the Elimination Chamber. Masters had to defeat Guerrero in 5 minutes and 56 seconds, which was the time set by Michaels (when he defeated Snitsky in the opening match of the show). Guerrero managed to survive the Master Lock long enough so that Masters was unable to beat the clock. At New Year's Revolution, Masters was eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match when Carlito double-crossed him by delivering a low blow while he had Cena in the Master Lock and then used a roll-up for the pin. On January 9, after some heated words with Carlito, both men had a tag match against two men who were also having difficulties, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. During the match, Michaels walked backstage, leaving Angle to fend for himself. Masters saw the opportunity and applied the Master Lock to Angle, thus gaining the victory. On January 16, Masters challenged Cena to take part in a Master Lock Challenge. Cena accepted the challenge and displayed signs that he might in fact break out of the hold, until Edge attacked Cena with his title belt and ended the challenge. At the Royal Rumble, Masters again worked together with Carlito, but Carlito again double-crossed him and eliminated him from the match. On the February 6 edition of Raw both men were entered into a Road to WrestleMania Tournament, to determine the number one contender for a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 22. In Masters' first round match up he would use the ropes for support in a victory against Kane, and secure himself a second round match up against the winner of a later match between Carlito and Rob Van Dam. Van Dam won that match. After this, Masters continued to feud with one half of the World Tag Team Champions, Big Show, while Masters' on and off teammate Carlito would feud with Kane. On the February 28th edition of RAW, McMahon offered Shawn Michaels' former tag team partner Marty Jannetty a WWE contract in exchange for kissing his exposed buttocks in the middle of the wrestling ring. When Jannetty hesitated, McMahon changed the condition to winning a Masterlock Challenge, and summoned Masters to the ring. After applying the Masterlock, McMahon ordered Masters to force Jannetty's face against his buttocks. Masters failed to complete this instruction as Shawn Michaels interrupted and knocked out Masters. Michaels was then attacked by Shane McMahon, who forced him to kiss Mr. McMahon's buttocks instead. On March 6 edition of Raw, McMahon publicly thanked everyone who encouraged the previous week's events, and officially awarded Masters AND Carlito a tag team title match at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania 22, the pair lost the match to Big Show and Kane. The pair argued amongst themselves after the match. Even though Carlito had repeatedly betrayed Masters over the previous months, it was Carlito who turned face. During the next Raw, Masters began to feud with Carlito after Carlito attacked him from behind. This led to a match between the two men at Backlash which Carlito won. Pursuit of the Intercontinental Championship (2006–2007) After this, Masters pursued the WWE Intercontinental Championship but would leave for several months to go to drug rehab due to an addiction of painkillers. Before leaving, Masters was on the May 22 edition of Raw, losing a match to John Cena by submission to the STF-U. He returned to the ring during an OVW TV taping on August 6. He had lost much of his muscle mass, appearing much slimmer, although he still had some definition in his arms and abdomen. On the August 28 edition of Raw, Masters made his return against Cena. Along with less muscle mass, he sported a goatee and mustache leading Jerry "The King" Lawler to refer to him as a "leaner and meaner" Chris Masters. This change of image was short-lived, however, as Masters shaved the goatee and regained some of his muscle mass. When Masters returned, he was put in lower-card matches including a short feud with Super Crazy, who had moved from SmackDown!, with Masters coming out on the losing end of their matches. The pair would also compete in a losing effort, along with four other Superstars, in a Six-Pack Challenge for the Intercontinental Championship. Masters gained his first victory since his return against Jerry Lawler on the November 6 edition of Raw in a match where Eric Bischoff, General Manager for the night, forced Lawler to be first handcuffed to the top rope. Masters continued the feud with Lawler for a few weeks with Lawler also losing a "Master Lock Challenge" before defeating Masters. On the December 4 episode of Raw, Jonathan Coachman set up a "Master Lock Challenge" against John Cena for the WWE Championship. Masters appearing to have the challenge won released the hold for a short time, allowing Cena to reverse the hold into his own Master Lock, forcing Masters to submit, retaining his title, and making Cena the first to win the Master Lock Challenge. At the start of 2007, Masters would restart his feud with Carlito, which led to several matches between the two. The first was a one-on-one contest at New Year's Revolution won by Masters. In a rematch the next night on Raw, Carlito came out victorious. On the January 15 edition of Raw, Ron Simmons, with interference from Super Crazy, almost became the third superstar to "win" the Master Lock Challenge. An attempted "Master Lock Challenge" for The Great Khali on the February 26 edition of Raw did not occur when Masters was unable to apply the hold to Khali. The Master Lock was officially broken on the March 19 edition of Raw, by ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley. In May and June, Masters challenged Santino Marella for the Intercontinental Championship, losing four times via roll-up. However, on the May 28 edition of Raw, he defeated Marella in the "Master Lock Challenge". SmackDown! and departure (2007) On the June 11 edition of Raw, Masters was drafted from Raw to SmackDown! as part of the 2007 WWE Draft. While on SmackDown! he was used sporadically including a few Master Lock Challenges. He had entered into a feud with Chuck Palumbo competing in several matches and an attempted "Master Lock Challenge" that did not begin as Masters fled the ring after Palumbo realized Masters was trying to trick him. Following this, Masters was suspended for 30 days for failing a drug test. Masters returned to SmackDown! on the October 5 edition, applying the Master Lock to Palumbo. Masters suffered a dislocated elbow during his last match, which would have sidelined him for four months. On November 2, 2007, it was reported that Masters has been suspended for 60 days for having violated WWE's Substance Abuse and Drug Policy a second time. Six days later, Mordetzky was released from his WWE contract on November 8, 2007. Independent circuit (2007–2009) On December 20, 2007, Mordetzky made his first wrestling appearance since his departure from WWE, competing under the name Chris Moore for Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation at the event Genome2: Inoki Fighting Xmas in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Ryuji Yanagisawa. Mordetzky also appeared under his Chris Masters ring name and gimmick at Harley Race's World League Wrestling show on December 29, during a Lumberjack match between Branden Tatum and Dinn T. Moore. Tatum pinned Moore after Masters applied the Master Lock behind the referee's back. He soon won the WLW Heavyweight Championship, his first singles title, on February 9, 2008 from Keith Walker. He later lost the title to Derek McQuinn on May 25. In May 2008, news reports revealed that Mordetzky had signed a one-year contract with Nu-Wrestling Evolution. Mordetzky wrestled on the independent circuit in Australia, appearing on April 11, 2009 in Perth, Western Australia, April 17 in Adelaide, and with Al Snow in the Australian Wrestling Federation for their tenth anniversary show Psychotic Slam. He soon appeared in the New Zealand company New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling on April 23 in Lower Hutt. He defeated Adam Avalanche and Rufguts in a Triple Threat match at the show Power Play 6. Masters also competed in Europe for American Wrestling Rampage, and in the UK for Varsity Pro Wrestling. Return to World Wrestling Entertainment Face turn, brand switches and second departure(2009–2011) Mordetzky returned to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on July 27, 2009 as "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters. He entered the ring with an unabridged Titantron, displaying his signature poses. Mordetzky did not take the mic and little commentary was made on his absence. He faced Montel Vontavious Porter in a match that resulted in a double-countout after he applied the Master Lock submission to MVP outside the ring. A mini feud continued between the two as Porter was able to score a pinfall victory over Masters the following week to end the feud. Beginning November 2009, Mordetzky began a face turn, entertaining fans with a Tony Holland-style pec dance. On November 2, Mordetzky entered the Raw's Got Talent show hosted by guest host Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, and The Great Khali, where he performed a "special performance art piece"; he flexed his pecs to the beat of Ozzy's song "Crazy Train", earning a positive crowd reaction. He later impressed the Bella Twins by flexing his pecs to the beat of "Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas, turning his character into a tweener. On the December 7, episode of Raw, Masters turned face for the first time in his WWE career by saving Eve Torres and Hornswoggle from Chavo Guerrero after applying the Master Lock. After that, Masters and Torres began an on-screen relationship. On December 27, 2009 at a Raw house show in Buffalo, NY Masters was in a triple threat match against Miz and MVP for the United States Championship, Miz retained the title but after the match Masters and MVP shook hands getting a really big positive action from the crowd. Masters engaged in lower-card feuds throughout 2010, and he appeared sporadically in February and March. Some wrestling observers have speculated that his character was being reduced to a comedic role because WWE hoped to avoid negative publicity tied to his past Talent and Wellness Violations. Following WrestleMania XXVI, Masters was not active on-screen for over 30 days. Masters was drafted to the SmackDown brand on April 26 during the Supplemental Draft. In his first match on the brand, he defeated Chavo Guerrero. A month later Masters defeated Caylen Croft, one half of The Dudebusters in a Master Lock Challenge but was later attacked by both members. A week later Masters teamed with Montel Vontavious Porter to defeat The Dudebusters in a tag team match. Masters would then go on a losing streak, suffering losses to wrestlers such as Dolph Ziggler, Caylen Croft, Chavo Guerrero, Tyler Reks, Jack Swagger and Drew McIntyre all on Superstars. On the September 9 episode of SmackDown, Masters ended his losing streak, teaming up with Kofi Kingston to defeat Chavo Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler though it was Kingston who got the win. Masters was announced as one of the men to compete in the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match as part of Team Mysterio, teaming with Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Kofi Kingston and Montel Vontavious Porter to take on Team Del Rio (Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre and "Dashing" Cody Rhodes). On the November 19 edition of SmackDown, Masters lost to Swagger in a Survivor Series Showdown match. Later that same night, he competed in a 10-Man Survivor Series Showdown Battle Royal where he eliminated Rhodes, though later on in the match he was eliminated, the Battle Royal was won by Mysterio and Big Show (as it was a team vs team battle royal). At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, Masters was eliminated by Del Rio, but his team still went on to win. Masters started 2011 with a victory over Curt Hawkins on WWE Superstars, making Hawkins submit to The Masterlock. One week later, he and JTG defeated Hawkins and Chavo Guerrero on Superstars after Chavo submitted to the Masterlock. On the January 20th edition of Superstars, the following week, Masters would again face off against Curt Hawkins, scoring yet another victory over him with his Masterlock submission hold. He was also given a push when he defeated Tyler Reks on two occasions, and in the process ending the winning streak of Reks. Reks got his revenge by attacking Masters after Masters defeated Curt Hawkins in a singles match. Masters got revenge by defeating Reks on the March 10th edition of Superstars. On the March 18th edition of Smackdown, Masters was defeated by Jack Swagger, and afterwards was put in the An-Cole Lock by announcer Michael Cole thus ending his twelve weeks undefeated winning streak. Masters recovered his loss six days laters with another victory over Tyler Reks. On the November 30 edition of WWE NXT, which was the season three finale, it was announced that Masters would be a Pro on the fourth season, with Byron Saxton as his rookie. In week 5 of the competition, Dolph Ziggler won an Over the Top Rope Battle Royale for the chance to switch rookies with WWE Pro of his choosing, Ziggler chose to switch rookies with Masters, making Ziggler Saxton's new pro and Masters became the new pro of Jacob Novak. Later in the evening, Novak was eliminated from the competition. On the January 18th edition of NXT, Masters won a match against his former rookie when Saxton submitted to the Masterlock. On the following weeks on superstars Masters would win against Tyler Reks again but on Smackdown, he lost to Jack Swagger ending his winning streak. On the November 30 edition of WWE NXT, which was the season three finale, it was announced that Masters would be a Pro on the fourth season, with Byron Saxton as his rookie. In week 5 of the competition, Dolph Ziggler won an Over the Top Rope Battle Royale for the chance to switch rookies with WWE Pro of his choosing, Ziggler chose to switch rookies with Masters, making Ziggler Saxton's new pro and Masters became the new pro of Jacob Novak. Later in the evening, Novak was eliminated from the competition. On April 26, Masters was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft but has rarely seen on Raw television tapings. He still used as mid carder talent and mainly appears on several Raw Dark Matches and Superstars. On August 5, 2011, Mordetzky was released from his contract with WWE . Personal life Mordetzky has stated that The Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels were two of his favorite wrestlers while growing up. When asked what it was like wrestling Michaels, Mordetzky replied, "It was a dream come true. That's something I'll take with me to my grave. He was my childhood idol, I idolize the guy, and I still trip out that I got to wrestle him on a pay-per-view. How many people get to do that? How many people get to wrestle their idol?" Mordetzky claims that the biggest misconception that most people have about him is that he's just a bodybuilder. John Cena went on record to say that Chris Masters is the strongest competitor he has faced in his career. Though Masters never defeated Cena in the ring, Masters defeated Cena in an arm wrestling match. Masters put Cena out in the Masterlock hold on three separate non-match occasions. Mordetzky is very good friends with Randy Orton, Carlito, and Rob Van Dam. Mordetzky has appeared on both Van Dam's radio show RVD-Radio and reality television show RVD-TV. The Wrestling Observer reported that Vince McMahon only re-hired Masters in 2009 at the recommendation of Randy Orton. He stated that he was also linked to Christy Hemme. Mordetzky is married to Vesela Marinova. Other media Masters appeared in the second episode of Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush as himself as the third of five new teachers. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **''Master Lock'' (WWE / Independent circuit) / Iron Cross (OVW) (Swinging full nelson) *'Signature moves' **Clothesline **Diving shoulder block **Gorilla press slam **''Polish Hammer'' (Double axe handle blow) – 2005 **Powerslam **Samoan drop **Spinebuster **Vertical suplex powerslam *'Tag teams and stables **Troubleshooters - with Brent Albright **Team Players *'Notable feuds''' **Chavo Guerrero **Carlito **John Cena **Tyler Reks *'Managers' **Sherri Martel **Beth Phoenix **Eve Torres *'Nicknames' **"The Living, Breathing Statue" **"The Roman General" **"Superfreak" **"The Masterpiece" Championships and accomplishments *'Ohio Valley Wrestling' **OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brent Albright *'World League Wrestling' **WLW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **PWI ranked him #'172' of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010 *'Vendetta Pro Wrestling' **Vendetta Pro Heavyweight Championship (1 time) See also *Chris Masters's event history *Master Lock Challenge External links and references *WWE Profile *Chris Masters profile at CAGEMATCH.net *Chirs Masters' entrance theme Category:American wrestlers Category:Australasian Wrestling Federation alumni Category:Great Lakes Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Inoki Genome Federation alumni Category:National Wrestling Superstars alumni Category:Nu-Wrestling Evolution alumni Category:Ohio Valley Wrestling alumni Category:Ultimate Pro Wrestling alumni Category:World League Wrestling alumni Category:1983 births Category:2002 debuts Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Vendetta Pro Wrestling alumni